Chapter 455
“Is there anyone who can avenge my son Mr. Stark? Can you avenge yourself? It’s your fault he’s dead! Do you think money can set things right? You have committed sins that you can’t atone no matter what you do!”
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“Ha!”
Tony jolted awake as the black woman’s words kept echoing in his head. Each word was like a sharp blade that constantly stabbed his heart, keeping him awake every night.
When he closed his eyes to sleep, the victims from Sokovia and all other incidents throughout his Iron Man career were staring at him with a dead eye.
He placed the picture of the black woman’s son inside his cabinet as a reminder of his mistake and his inability to save everyone!
Tony always thought that his Iron Man armour was the best weapon on earth, but then again, he was proven wrong countless times!
Because of that, he started to doubt himself, doubted his own goal that kept him moving from the time he was imprisoned inside that cave!
At this very moment, Tony had never been so confused in his entire life!
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In the early morning, inside the Avenger base.
A week had passed since the terrorist attack in Lagos, Nigeria. However, the media still bombarded the news on TV about the incident.
The most eye-catching title of the news was ‘The Avenger brought a Terrorist Attack to a crowded downtown.’ And thus, the public went rampant on so many negative speculations about the Avenger as a whole!
“During the Avengers’ confrontation with a group of mercenaries, which resulted in thousands of casualties, 11 of the innocent civilians who died were Wakandans. When the explosion occurred, these Wakandans were holding a meeting inside a building that was destroyed by one of the Avengers.”
“Our people’s death was tragic as it wasn’t caused by the terrorist themselves, but by those who claimed to stop the act of terrorism itself! A victory that was achieved by sacrificing the lives of the innocent was not a victory at all!”
“What legal right does a super-powered person like Wanda Maximoff has to carry out such an action in Nigeria?”
The Media kept on replaying the recording of Wanda throwing the bomb in the market high to the air. At the same time, Dio walked in and turned the TV off.
“This is my fault!” Wanda said as she looked at her hands.
“I already told you before, and I will say it again, this is not your fault! Your action saved a lot of innocent lives in that market, and even if someone else was there instead of you, there was no guarantee that they could handle the situation better than you do!” Dio said as he sat down and hugged Wanda from the side.
“No, had I noticed that bomb a second earlier, there wouldn’t be such a tragedy!” Wanda said with a complicated expression on her face.
“Don’t beat yourself too much. You have to know that we wouldn’t be able to save everyone just like we wouldn’t be able to make everyone happy! On this earth, people are dying every minute, let alone the entire universe! If you can’t accept this fact, you may no longer be able to save anyone in the future!”
“How many planets in the universe have you been to? Can you tell me about them?” Wanda asked as she changed the topic of their conversation.
“A lot, the universe is vast and beautiful, more than what you can imagine. I have an idea, what do you say if we go on an adventure ourselves? You can visit as many planets as you want.” Dio asked contemplatingly.
Wanda was just about to nod when Pietro came running in a flash.
“What are you doing?”
“Just chatting.”
Pietro got a confused look on his face as he saw Dio holding Wanda close to him. He finally realized what happened here, but he decided not to make a fuss about it after seeing the two distanced themselves.
“Stark and the Secretary of State is here! The Captain asked all of us to come to the meeting room.”
Dio sighed as the time of dread finally came. The Secretary of State is here! It was clear that he planned to control the Avenger under the U.S.A banner after the incident. On top of that, Tony was the one who brought him!
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With the exception of Bruce Banner and Thor, whose whereabouts were still unknown, the remaining Avenger and Dio gathered in the meeting room.
“The world owes so much from the Avenger. You fought hard for us and risked your lives to protect the innocent. However, not everyone was on board. Some people even use the term Vigilante to describe your group!”
Dio yawned as he was bored of listening to the Secretary of State’s remarks.
As far as he knew, all politicians were the same. They would say something to soften the blow before they would finally say their real intention!
Dio looked around and saw that Natasha had the same expression on her face.
“So, what word did you personally use to describe us?” Natasha asked tauntingly.
“Dangerous, that would be the word I would use. A group of superhuman who stays in the United States, Ignoring sovereign borders and imposing their will on another country, disregarding protocol and consequences! With that in mind, what word would you use?” The Secretary of State said challengingly.
He started to read aloud and name each place that the Avenger was deeply involved in that also took a considerable amount of lives with the respective video of each scene!
Wanda’s eyes went wide as she saw the rubbles and dead bodies from the collapsed building in Nigeria.
“That’s enough. What are you trying to say?” Steve frowned and directly interrupted the Secretary of State from going any further.
He had already thought about this situation for a long time due to his talk with Dio a few months back. Steve couldn’t help but wonder if the day he dreaded has finally come!
“For the past few years, the Avengers has been operating without any restrain, and the World Government could no longer tolerate this situation!”
“After a meeting, combining the effort of almost all countries on earth, we came to a solution that we called Sokovia Accords!” The Secretary said as he placed a thick document on the table.
“This Accord is already approved by hundreds of countries, and it stated that the Avenger would no longer be a private organization and would operate under the supervision of United Nations instead! You would only be dispatched as soon as the United Nations deemed it necessary!”
“The Avengers was formed to make the world a safer place, and I think we did that,” Steve said as he once again interrupted the Secretary of State.
“Captain, remind me once more, where did Thor and Banner go? Aren’t both of them stronger than a nuclear bomb? Did you know the consequences of letting those two loose? Now, in three days, the UN would hold a meeting in Vienna to ratify this accord.”
“But, What if we don’t want to participate with this agreement?” Natasha said as a frown was clear on her face.
“Then you will become a criminal.”
The Secretary of State said the sentence without showing any emotion at all and immediately left afterward.
At the same time, the Avengers were left speechless as they started to ponder what they just heard.
The weight of the future to come was pressing down on everyone’s mind.